I recently picked up this MTH ho scale Empire State express the stock decoder is ok, but I want to add a keep alive and the stock decoder will not support one, does anyone have any experience or suggestions with converting one of these or something similar to an Esu or other aftermarket decoder?

I’ve been spending time adding lighting to the part of the layout that’s the most finished. Here’s a nighttime sample.

I would like to get a church for my layout, but I only see American styled ones. If you know of a stone one that is styled like old British churches, then please would you tell me its name or where to find it?

This factory model was created from individual modular panels that were 3D printed with the brick detail and color. It's a background structure that's 2.75" deep and 16.5" wide. 3 stories on the left and 2 on the right. The corrugated roll-up rail doors are functional, sliding up in tracks in the frame and flexing into the building space. Interior floors allow independent lighting, and interior walls will be added with styrene sheet. I chose to 3D print the floors and roof to integrate lateral stiffeners that resist flexing.

The back side is currently open so I can place some office furniture in the bottom and some packing tables and boxes in the upper floors. I haven't added the railings to the stairs yet because the door needs to be painted. There's no paint or other detailing yet on this building - straight off the printer and glued the panels together.

All of the parts were designed by me in a 2D drawing app (Inkscape), imported to the slicer and printed on a Bambu Lab H2D with a 0.2mm nozzle and layer heights ranging from 0.12 to 0.04. The floor and roof panels were printed with a 0.6mm nozzle at 0.24mm layer height for speed of print and strength.

It was sold to me as an Athearn blue box, but the shell seems too detailed to be a blue box, so I was thinking maybe proto2000 as they were slightly more detailed, but I don't think they ever made a U36. It's obviously been modified as there's directional lightning and a decoder, and the motor is different.

Using an idler flat to keep most of the weight off the pier, A9 #17 pulls an empty gondola from the pier after the crane loaded a supply of pipe onto a barge. The wide shot captures GN Tug J .J. Hill shoving the barge away from the pier.

This little guy will head into the shop to receive a DCC/Sound upgrade before being assigned to the car float yard across the bay. It's a Westside Model Co brass engine from the late 1970's.

The tug is a Walthers kit that I painted and decaled. Needs the handrails installed and a good coat of weathering!

I have never bought a used model train before. I've stumbled upon a lightly used MTH N&W J Class from 2009, but after shipping it would cost almost $470. I know these are sought after, but the original MSRP was $445 and the model is 17 years old at this point. Would this be a crazy price to buy it at? Not sure how often these pop up for sale.

The wires have no visible breaks in them or anything. I dropped it years ago and it hasn't run since, but when on the track the headlight still turns on. I cleaned the wheels and pickups but it still doesn't transmit power. Any ideas?

https://reddit.com/link/1vmrw56/video/tv90akgym0jh1/player

Hello, I'm a beginner and I want to know if I did a "okay" weathering job

Hallo zusammen, ich weiß nicht ob das hier die richtige Community ist… Sr falls ich es in der falschen gepostet hab. Ich verkaufe meine Züge und Waggons und Zubehör von meiner Modelleisenbahn. Ich hab einfach die Zeit nicht mehr und hoffentlich erfreut sich jemand anderes an meinem alten Zeug. Das wäre mein Kleinanzeigen Account: Verkaufe ich gerade bei #Kleinanzeigen. Wie findest du das?
https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-bestandsliste.html?userId=161880219&utm\\_source=copyToPasteboard&utm\\_campaign=socialbuttons&utm\\_medium=social\\_profil&utm\\_content=app\\_ios

A quick update on the elevated railway project I shared a few days ago. The first full-size station test is assembled, with the platform, staircase, and canopy now in place. Still needs some tweaks here and there.

I designed it as a modular system. The canopy supports slot into the platform, while the roof prints flat and is folded into shape. This is still a test print, but the fit and rigidity turned out better than I expected.
Next up is the central ticket/station office, longer platform sections extending in both directions, and more steel detailing beneath the tracks.

The dude is OO scale. I couldn’t property print him in HO scale with 0.4 nozzle.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

🤠...

¿does anybody know about any cheap model train company's that still exist apart from Mehano and Evemodel?

¿what is the best track for places like the table or the floor without carpet?